7 months ago

7 months ago

7 months ago

Injury Bug Impacts Notre Dame

Every year around the few weeks prior to formal practice you start to see these types of reports of players getting injured during workouts. You hate to see it, but at least in most of these situations, the player knows that the year is lost and can start thinking about a full year of recovery rather than trying to rush it. Case in point:

Notre Dame Loses Scott Martin

Bad news out of South Bend today – Scott Martin, a 6-8, 219 lb. junior guard who was expected to start for the Irish in 2009-10, will miss the entire season due to a torn ACL in his left knee. Before transferring to Notre Dame, Martin averaged 8.5 points in his freshman year at Purdue, where he played 21.9 minutes per game. Those numbers would have been helpful for Mike Brey’s team this year, as Martin seems to be in the same build as Ryan Ayers, a 6-7, 210 lb. guard who scored 11.1 ppg in 2008-09, his senior season. The injury occurred during preseason workouts yesterday, and an MRI earlier today confirmed the ACL tear.

It remains to be seen who will fill in now that Martin’s Fighting Irish debut will be delayed another year. Besides Luke Harangody, no one on the team grabbed five rebounds a game last year, and now Brey will be forced to fill in with a smaller player (6-3 Ben Hansbrough, also in his first year after a transfer from Mississippi St.) or someone with little to no experience. While none of the incoming freshmen at Notre Dame garnered more than three stars from Rivals.com and Scout.com, they may see the floor more than expected. The Irish were already entering the season with questions as to how they would replace Kyle McAlarney, who was second on the team in scoring (15.0 ppg) and first in offensive efficiency. Undoubtedly, Mike Brey expected Scott Martin to help answer some of those questions.

Emmanuel Negedu Medical Update

In Wednesday’s Fast Breaks, we reported that Tennessee sophomore forward Emmanuel Negedu was being held by UT doctors for testing after he collapsed while lifting weights and the team trainers had to revive him before taking him to the hospital. While Negedu’s collapse has yet to be diagnosed, the good news is that he’s been released from the UT Medical Center now. Before his basketball future can be decided, Negedu will be seeing specialists at the Cleveland (OH) Clinic for more tests. Thankfully, UT trainers Chad Newman and Jason McVeigh were on hand last week when Negedu’s collapse occurred, and we wish him all the best with his health (basketball can wait).